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Help:Creating Articles
So now you have a shiny new account, and you want to write an article. Well, there are several ways to do this: # Click on a red link in an existing article #* Red links are links that point to empty articles. By clicking on the link, you will find yourself in the editing page where you can merrily add content. (Remember that your screenname WILL be attached to the article, so NO rude stuff, please.) # Run a search on a article name that doesn't exist yet #*Put the article name you're searching for in the search window and click on the "Go" button (not the "Search" one). A Red link will appear, allowing you to use Option One. #*To save yourself time, effort, and frustration, make sure you run several different spellings (i.e. Lieutenant Junior Grade - Lieutenant, Junior Grade) or possible synonyms (i.e. Executive Officer - First Officer) for the article you are searching for before creating a new one. The admins will remove doubled articles and redirect pages if they already exist. (We'd hate for you to spend the time on creating an article only to have it wiped!) # Check the "Wanted Pages" list #* Go to "Special Pages", the "Wanted Pages" list is at the bottom of the listing. This list will give you an abundance of articles that need to be created. Pick yourself one by clicking on the Red link and have at it! (Make sure you run a search on the article name first, for reasons mentioned in number 2.) #'Check the "Stubs" Category' (editing only) #* Go to "Special Pages", then "Categories", the "Stubs" list is toward the bottom of the listing. In the "Stubs" Category, you will find a listing of already created articles that need information added to it. Click on one of the Red links and add your knowledge to the existing information, or correct any wrong information (don't forget to explain why you felt it needed changing in the summary). If you have an idea for an article, by all means, add it!! A good first article to add would be your personal article for your character. You can use any of the methods listed above to create the article page. Be sure to follow the GUIDELINES! When you have finished writing in your article, type in a summary of what you wrote (or edited) in the "summary box" and click "Show Preview". Make sure you read through your article and edit anything necessary before finally clicking on "Save Page." You can also check the "Watch this page" box (which is recommended for your personal article!). That will list the page in your Watchlist (link in the top right corner) and you can see at a glance if somebody else has edited your page. Important Note If you are referencing information from other sources (i.e. Memory Alpha, Encyclopedias, etc.) in any part of your article, please attach a list of your reference sources with links (to the specific article referenced if possible) at the end of the page, in this manner: References * Memory Alpha, ARTICLE NAME, LINK HERE * Wikipedia, ARTICLE NAME, LINK HERE DO NOT simply copy/paste information from other sources. Articles pointed out to us as clearly being taken from other sources that do not have a list of references WILL BE DELETED!